Diebus Fatalibus
by Noreaga
Summary: A very short story about Squall and Rinoa in their twilight years. Romantic, but I tried not to be too cheesey.


Note: I do not actually know much about the disease of multiple sclerosis. But feel free to correct any mistakes I have here. Other than that, enjoy (hopefully.)  
  
Disclaimer: The usual jazz. I didn't create any of these characters, etc. Don't sue me cuz I'm broke.  
  
The ocean was beautiful. Brilliant facets of light bounced off the water, creating a shimmering shining sapphire stretching for miles and miles. Squall gazed towards the shore of Centra, his eyes wondering from the tumbling waves to the pink and orange sunset at the horizon. But he could not enjoy the spectacular beauty nature offered to him. He could only think of the words of the doctor, which still rang clear in his mind.  
  
"She will only have three months to live. Four, if she's strong."  
  
That had been four months ago. Squall turned his head and glanced behind his shoulder. Rinoa sat on the porch of the log cabin they called home. Sitting peacefully on her wheelchair, she smiled as she enjoyed the fresh air. It was nice living in such simple conditions. No more SeeD missions, no more big cities. Just simple the ocean and the company of each other. It was the good life.  
  
Or so it seemed. Squall sighed stared despondently out into the ocean again. When Rinoa started to become clumsier months ago, Squall didn't worry very much. He attributed it to old age. But when she tripped and fell while performing the simple task of climbing the porch stairs, Squall worried. While at the hospital, she was diagnosed with a much more serious ailment than just a broken hip. How ironic that Rinoa, a Sorceress, who possessed the most powerful magic known to man, would die of something as simple as multiple sclerosis.  
  
When he first heard the news, Squall was struck in shock. How was this possible? But the symptoms were already apparent. Rinoa was starting to lose control on her muscles. Soon the muscles controlling her heart and breathing would stop working.and then.  
  
She would die.  
  
Squall didn't know why the word "die" hit him so hard. After all, he was a trained mercenary. Death had seemed to lose its meaning a long time ago. But when he uttered Rinoa's name and added "will die" after it, he could not help one single tear from rolling down his face. It was red-hot blade running through his limbs.  
  
But no. Squall gathered himself. Maybe it was time already. It had been sixty years since they had killed Ultimecia. They were both seventy- seven years old and outlived all their friends. Maybe it was finally time.  
  
But these thoughts did not console Squall. His heart ached, not because Rinoa would leave, but because she would leave without him. Squall feared more than anything else life without the one thing that had been true throughout his entire life. He dreaded a life without security, friendship, love, and hope. And those things he found only in Rinoa.  
  
The former SeeD forced himself to stop thinking such thoughts. It took all his might, but he succeeded. Right now, he must be strong, to make Rinoa's final moments as meaningful as possible. With his walking cane, Squall made his way back to the front porch and sat in a wooden chair next to Rinoa. The woman smiled to see Squall beside her.  
  
After several seconds of comfortable silence, Rinoa said in a cheerful, but broken, voice: "You know, Squall. I think those dang GF's have got to me again." Her words were slow and muddled. The illness was getting to her. She had lost some ability to move her mouth.  
  
"Why do you mean?" the other replied.  
  
"I mean, I can't seem to remember things so well. Tell me again, when did we defeat Ultimecia?"  
  
"I believe that was sixty years ago."  
  
"Oh, yes, I remember now." Rinoa thought for a moment. "And Cid Kramer died a few years after, right? Heart attack."  
  
Squall nodded. "Yes, and Edea passed only months after and passed her powers to a willing SeeD. Her name was.Rachel, I think?"  
  
"Was it Rachel? I could've sworn her name was Rita."  
  
"No, it was Rachel."  
  
"Oh, yes, that's right." Rinoa paused again. "Poor Quisty, though. I cried a river when she died. She was only.how old?"  
  
"Twenty-six. Stray bullet."  
  
Rinoa sighed. "Such a shame that so many SeeD must die so young. Irvine died the same way, didn't he?"  
  
Squall racked his brain as he tried to remember. "Yes. But that was much later. Right before Selphie became Headmaster of Trabia."  
  
"Good old Selphie." Rinoa chuckled. "She was always a good friend. I'm glad she had such a fulfilling life. Two kids and five grandchildren. It's what she wanted. She passed away a happy person."  
  
"Selphie was always a happy person," Squall reminisced, surprised that he could remember his old friends so clearly.  
  
"Whatever happened to Zell?" Rinoa suddenly said. "Did they ever find his body?"  
  
Squall shook his head. "No."  
  
"Did you ever wonder that maybe he isn't dead? What if he's still alive right now and we just don't know it?" Rinoa asked.  
  
"Maybe." Squall entertained the idea for an instant, but he knew it was near impossible.  
  
"Well.it's not too bad to hope, is it?"  
  
The couple lapsed into another comfortable silence. Squall soon lost track of time. He watched the ocean rise to the sandy shore, retract, and rise again, and soon fell into a steady rhythm. Soon the sun set, and the sky turned dark blue. When he finally realized how late it had become, he glanced at Rinoa sitting beside him. She had fallen asleep, strands of white hair falling about her face perfectly. All these years, and she was still beautiful.  
  
Squall eased himself from his chair and placed his coat on his love's shoulders. Slowly he opened the door and pushed the wheelchair inside. Once inside, he lit an oil lamp and put it on a nearby table. Two cots were already set on the ground. Squall and Rinoa slept on the floor now, for Rinoa had deteriorated so much she couldn't climb into a bed. Awkwardly, Squall transferred Rinoa from her wheelchair to her mattress. He tucked her in like a little child.  
  
Such mundane tasks were the only things that kept Squall sane. The routine of everyday life, like tucking Rinoa in every night. Making small things last awhile so that he could put off the inevitable for as long as he could.  
  
But not tonight. Tonight, the future didn't exist. The only thing that mattered was now. The only thing that mattered was Rinoa sleeping on the ground, with Squall watching over her. At this very moment.  
  
Why did the present seem so important now? Squall had spent his whole life not worrying about the present, so why did it matter so much suddenly? Maybe it was because he felt - no, knew that something was going to happen tonight. And he accepted it.  
  
Squall watched Rinoa, her form bathed with the soft light of the oil lamp. He watched her chest rise and fall as she breathed in and out.  
  
In and out. In and out. In and out. In and out. In.  
  
And out.  
  
And nothing more.  
  
Several moments later, a brilliant purple stream of light rose from Rinoa's body. It rose upwards and shot through the open window, locating the nearest female to become the new Sorceress. The cycle would continue again.  
  
Squall stared out the open window for a minute, somewhat surprised at such a peaceful passing of the Sorceress powers. But then Squall shifted his eyes back on Rinoa, expecting her to start breathing again. But of course, he knew she wouldn't. She would never breathe again, or laugh again, or live again.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, Squall rose from where he sat and walked out the door. He walked past the porch, past the field, and to the ocean. He didn't even need his walking cane.  
  
For the second time this day, the man stared at the ocean, his thoughts running wild. How ironic that Rinoa had fought for so long to teach Squall not to live alone, and yet ultimately.he was alone.  
  
And yet.  
  
Squall watched the waves of the dark water rock back and forth. In the ocean he could see the woman he fell in love with. In the ocean he could see everything that made him a complete person. In the ocean he saw everything he had reason to live for. And in the ocean he found undeniable truth.  
  
The ocean is made of millions upon billions of tiny drops of water. Alone, each drop is small and isolated. But together, they make up a force that is to be reckoned with, an entity that is harsh and cruel, but something that encompasses everything beautiful about life and existence.  
  
Because no man can stand alone. Because no man is alone.  
  
And that was what Rinoa taught him.  
  
"Thank you." 


End file.
